January 16, 2012
/24-7PressRelease/ --
Recent Gun Crimes Could Trigger New Pennsylvania Self-Defense Law
News outlets from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia recently reported on Pennsylvania
homicide cases involving firearms that implicate Pennsylvania's new "stand-your-ground" law. Recent changes by lawmakers strengthened so-called Castle Doctrine principles in the state criminal code.
House Bill 40 passed with wide majorities in both houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly last summer, and took effect in late August after it was signed by Governor Tom Corbett. The new law redefines general principles of justification for the use of force in self-defense and in the defense of others, while also providing immunity from lawsuits for use of force.
A recent Montgomery County shooting death is being considered as a possible Castle Doctrine case, according to a report in the Doylestown Intelligencer. A licensed handgun owner shot and killed a 19-year-old Berks County man and wounded the man's father after they allegedly attacked him with baseball bats during a confrontation at the shooter's home.
Several weeks earlier, an attempted homicide count against a western Pennsylvania man was dropped. He had fired two shots from his own vehicle at another driver who had allegedly charged the shooter's vehicle with his truck. The driver of the truck, who refused to testify against the shooter, has been charged with
aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and driving under the influence.
New language in the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes provides a legal presumption that a person had a reasonable belief that deadly force was immediately necessary if they acted to defend themselves or others when within a residence or vehicle. For individuals accused of a
Pennsylvania gun crime or firearm offense under certain circumstances, this change might provide a significant difference in the legal consequences they face.
Article provided by Randolph L. Goldman
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